Does everyone feel like you're forgetting a ton?

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chuck84

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I'm an MS2 and not planning on starting studying for the boards until next year but I feel like some of the topics our school covered last year (micro, anatomy) have completely left my brain. I just want to hear some 3rd and 4th years say they felt the same during 2nd year did fine on step 1.
 
I'm an MS2 and not planning on starting studying for the boards until next year but I feel like some of the topics our school covered last year (micro, anatomy) have completely left my brain. I just want to hear some 3rd and 4th years say they felt the same during 2nd year did fine on step 1.

You'll be fine, don't worry. Micro is fairly high yield but anatomy is among the lower yield subjects on Step 1 anyway. Just review it closer to the exam and make sure yo uknow it wlel.

Also... wait till fourth year... then you'll REALLY feel the senioritis kicking in... studying for step 2 is really a pain when your motivation just goes straight out the window
 
Also... wait till fourth year... then you'll REALLY feel the senioritis kicking in... studying for step 2 is really a pain when your motivation just goes straight out the window

Ugggh! I'm an M4 and totally feeling this!!!

As far as step I, don't worry. I started studying AFTER my M2 year finals, which means I took less than a month to prep. I don't really remember what happened during the 8 hours of actually taking the Step I exam (selectively deleted from memory), but I can tell you this -- as far as anatomy AND micro are concerned, whatever I got out of First Aid was sufficient. FA was all I studied due to time constraint. Not saying that's the BEST way to do it, but just sharing my experience. It was enough. 🙂
 
Yes. But there are ways to combat that.

how far into school are you? for some (most (all)) review of that nature really isn't practical, nor does it require a fancy program when there are plenty of other resources out there. Just curious if this is something you use or something you plan to use.
 
how far into school are you? for some (most (all)) review of that nature really isn't practical, nor does it require a fancy program when there are plenty of other resources out there. Just curious if this is something you use or something you plan to use.

I'm a rising 3rd year (we do clinical year in 2nd year here) about to take Step 1 in about a week. I've been using Anki since the 2nd month of med school. It's helped me tremendously, especially during clinical year when I was away from the classroom. We'll see Step 1 goes next week, but I'm fairly confident. (PS. The link I posted is my own.)

As far as practicality goes, that's a matter of perspective. The time I spend on daily reviews, if you keep up with them, is no more than the time most of us spend jerking around on facebook or espn.com. And the review load goes down over time.

The major benefit is the long-term knowledge retention, and now, I can affirm, the decreased stress of not having to cram for Step 1. I will continue using the cards even after Step 1 because I'd like to actually retain something for my efforts. Sure, a lot of step 1 knowledge is minutiae, but some of it is fundamental stuff that will always be useful. I keep a deck for clinical year stuff (internal med) too, which helps me with clinical management and presentations and such.

Anyway, to each his own. I just wanted to give the OP an option.
 
As far as practicality goes, that's a matter of perspective. The time I spend on daily reviews, if you keep up with them, is no more than the time most of us spend jerking around on facebook or espn.com. And the review load goes down over time.



Anyway, to each his own. I just wanted to give the OP an option.

I see what you did there :d

I have a GT account and have been throwing in first year stuff with the path and pharm that I use it to review. It appears to be the same thing as your flashcard system here (ish). I have still forgotten a ton, but there is enough groundwork still there to allow me to weasel my way through the questions.
 
you'll be surprised how much you retain when you're doing study questions and how quickly it comes back to you.

also, the small details won't likely be tested anyway. you can forget those for good.
 
you'll be surprised how much you retain when you're doing study questions and how quickly it comes back to you.

also, the small details won't likely be tested anyway. you can forget those for good.

If you don't remember every enzyme that uses thiamine off the top of your head then you will never make a good doctor. 🙂
 
Hey. GT uses the same principle of spaced repetition. I think they offer a quality product, and people are reporting really good performance if you keep up. I think if you don't want to make your own cards, and you're willing to pay for access, it's a great resource. I use Anki because it's free, has more features, has a mobile app, and I can add my won stuff and own it. But the principle is the same - spaced repetition rather than massed cramming. If you read some of the other articles I linked to, you'll see that there is over a century's worth of research studying and confirming the spacing effect. It's an amazing thing that that insight has not really penetrated pedagogy and learning practices more broadly. We still do stuff that makes no sense, like making elaborate note sheets or outlines, use them for a test, then shove them away under the bed, never to be seen again. For all the money and time we spend trying to become doctors, shouldn't we have some durable assets to take away from this? Otherwise, everything we're doing is just some bizarre academic exercise with little long-term benefit.
 
Thank you so much for this thread. I learned a ton.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using SDN Mobile
 
Im two weeks past my first tests and id need to review for a couple hours in order to do as well as I did then. I can only imagine how much is forgotten in a few years.
 
It will come back to you as you study, but eventually you will forget a lot and only get really good at the medicine you use regularly. That is only natural, and as a 2nd/3rd year student, you will know stuff that your attendings forget on occasion because of this. However, it does take a few years for that information for depart, so as far as steps 1-3 go, you will not have to worry all that much.
 
Yeah, Anki is great! Remember that you can search for Anki decks made by others, or even share decks amongst friends.

I think that it can be helpful to go through a deck that you didn't write. I find that sometimes I know the answer just from the way I wrote the question, rather than from straight up knowing the answer.
 
Yeah, Anki is great! Remember that you can search for Anki decks made by others, or even share decks amongst friends.

I think that it can be helpful to go through a deck that you didn't write. I find that sometimes I know the answer just from the way I wrote the question, rather than from straight up knowing the answer.

The thing I also love about anki, is it forces you to study every subject everyday, assuming you made cards for every class. I just love that, because otherwise I'd prob stick to one or two a day really hardcore.

Fact is, a lot of med school is memorizing discrete facts. Heh...
 
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